Handle for air-brake valves for railway-cars.



F. R. L. STOTT & T. OROSSEN. HANDLE FOR AIR BRAKE VALVES FOR RAILWAY CARS.

APPLICATION FILED 001'. 27, 1910.

1,035,490. Patented Aug.'13,1912.

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@Zdsma UNITED STATESiTENT OFFICE.

FREDERICK R. L. STOT'I. AND THOMAS CROSSEN, OF HAMILTON, ONTARIO, CANADA.

HANDLE FOR AIR-BRAKE VALVES FOR RAILWAY-CARS.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, FREDERICK R. L. STo'r'r and THOMAS CRossEN, both subjects of the King of Great Britain, and residents of Hamilton, in the county of W'entworth and Province of Ontario, Canada, have jointly invented new and useful Improvementin Handles for Air-Brake Valves for Railway-Cars, of which the following is a specification.

@ur invention relates to improvements in safety handles for air-brake valves, for railway cars, and consists of a key, or wrench, secured to the valve, and a pressure controlled safety handle fulcrnined to said key adapted to open, close and to lock the valve.

The objects of our invention are, first to provide a safety handle on a rotatable valve adapted to rotate the same in opposite directions, and which can not effect said rotary motion without first bringing the handle, in other, or non-rotary direction by pressure, in order to effect said rotary motion; second, to provide safety means on a rotatable valve adapted to rotate the same in opposite directions and which can not be compelled to effect said rotary movement without first bringing said safety means, by pressure, in other, or non-rotary direction to effect said rotary movement, under any circumstance or condition to which the valve may be subjected, third, to provide a safety handle on a rotatable valve adapted to rotate said valve and to lock the same together with the handle in opposite directions, and which can not be unlocked by any jars, or vibration, or by the forcible changing of position of the valve while air-tubes are being coupled thereto or uncoupled therefrom, thereby preventing possible accidents.

WVe attain these objects by the mechanism illustrated in the accompanying drawing, in which Figure 1 is an elevation of an air brake safety handle on the shank end of a rotatable valve in a casing, or angle cock used on railway cars in general and in looking position, said handle shown in raised position by broken lines. Fig. 2 is a plan of'the same showing the position of the safety handle in broken lines when the same is rotated in raised, and also in lowered and locked position. Fig. 3 is a plan of the top of the casing or angle-cock of the valve, showing the common rectangular shank of the valve in section, the shank extends through said Specification: of 1 Letters Patent.

Application: filed October 27:, 1-910.

Patented Aug. 13, 191

Serial Nor 589,396.

top, and is shown in broken vertical lines in Fig. 1 of the drawing; Fig. 4: is a. plan of the handle together with its key, or wrench, detached from the valve, the outer part of said key,.together with its mechanism being in section. Fig. 5 is adetail elevation of a portion of the detached handle. Fig. 6 is a detail plan of a port-ion of the detached key or wrench. Fig. 7 is a detail plan of a portion of the detached handle.

Similar letters refer to similar parts throughout the several views.

In the drawing, the casing or angle-cock, for railway cars, isindicated by A, and B is the rectangular shank of the valve and extends upward and beyond the top of the casing in the usual manner of valves, to receive a key, orwrench, to rotate the valve in opposite directions, that is, to open and to close the valve. The ends 2 and 3 of the casing or angle cock, are adapted to receive air-tubes coupled thereto in the usual manner, and said casing is generally located on the ends of railway cars which have airbrakes connected thereto. The top of the casing has projecting shoulders 4L and shown in Fig. 3, the shoulders 4 and 5 are not new.

C is the safety handle, and D, is the key, or wrench, to which the handle is fulcrunied. The key D has a rectangular opening 6 adapted to fit onto the shank B, and to rest on the top of the cock, and extending from said key is a cylinder 7, and a jaw 8, in alinement with said cylinder. The opposite end of the handle C has an arm, or lug 0, adapted to fit between the end of the cylinder and the jaw 8, and is fulcrun'icd on the bolt or pin 10, which extends through the jaw 8, the lug 9, the cylinder 7, and the end nut 12, which is secured in the cylinder. The pin 13 extends through the cylinder, the nut and the bolt, to secure said parts together. The opposite end of the bolt 10 has a head 14., the several parts being shown in Fig. 4, of the drawing.

S, is a spiral spring coiled around the bolt 10, bet-ween the jaw 8 and the nut 12, one end of the spring is inserted in a notch, or recess 15, formed in the lug 9 of the arm, and the opposite end of the spring is inserted in a similar notch, or recess 16 in the nut 12, and when said nut is rotated sufliciently and thereby to impart proper tension to the spring, the pin 13 is then inserted to position. The end of the spring engaging with the lower and outer, or rear part of the lug 9, of the handle, tends to lift said part, thereby pressing the handle firmly and heavily on the key D, the opposite end of the spring presses in the notch 16. The spring may be further tensioned, to have more power, by rotating the nut 12, after the pin 13 is withdrawn. The underside of the lug 9 of the arm, shown in Figs. 1 and 5, has an extension 17 which is adapt ed to engage with the underside of the key D, immediately between the jaw 8, and the cylinder 7, thereby preventing the handle from being lifted too high.

18, is a stop extending from and below the key and is a part of the key. 19 and 20 are similar stops extending from and below the key C, and form a part of the key. The stops 19 and 20 are in about cliametrical line one with the other, and the similar stop 18 of the key, is in circumferential line about midway between said stops 19 and'20. When the valve is open, as shown, the stop 18 of the key, contacts with the shoulder at, of the valve casing, shown in Fig. 3, and simultaneously the stop 19, contacts with the shoulder 5. The handle is there locked by the tension, or pressure, on the handle, caused by the spring.

To close the valve, the stops 19 and 20 must be freed from the shoulders 4: and 5 of the valve casing, this is accomplished by lifting the handle on its fulcrum, by manual strength, until the stops 19 and 20 are higher than the shoulders 4 and 5 of the casing. The handle is shown in broken lines in this lifted position in Fig. 1. The handle may then be rotated together with the key to a position shown in broken lines in Fig. 2, and the handle allowed to fall to position. At this changed position of the handle and key, to close said valve, the stop 18, of the key contacts with the shoulder 5, and the stop 20, contacts with the shoulder l, and there stops. At this time the arm, the key and the valve, are locked by the inherent tendency of the handle to press on the key. The key is secured to the valve shank B, by means of a pin 21, which extends through said shank and key, as is usual.

it will be noticed that the valve can not be rotated in either direction, without first lifting the properly tensioned handle, sufficiently to allow the stops on the handle to escape the shoulders of the cock.

The stop on the key and a stop of the handle are arranged to snugly fit between the shoulders of the valve casing thereby mechanical means,

shown, may be employed to tension the safety handle so as to bear heavily on the key.

What we claim as our invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. In an air brake valve, the combination with a casing having separated shoulders, of a rotatable valve in the casing which is provided with a shank, a key secured to the shank and provided with a member adapted to play between and to be limited in its movement by the shoulders aforesaid, said key being provided at one side of its connection with the shank with a cylindrical casing, a handle pivoted to the key, a torsion spring contained within the cylindrical casing and engaged therewith and with the handle and adapted to hold the handle down on the key, said spring being housed and protected by the cylindrical casing, and means on the handle adapted to engage the shoulders.

2. In an air brake valve, the combination with a casing having separated shoulders, of a rotatable valve in the casing which is provided with a shank, a key secured to the shank and provided with a member adapted to play between and to be limited in its movement by the shoulders aforesaid, said key being provided at one side of its con-- nection with the shank with a cylindrical casing, a bolt extending longitudinally through the cylindrical casing, a torsion spring contained within and housed and protected by the cylindrical casing and surrounding the bolt, an adjustable nut on the bolt wit-h which the said spring is engaged whereby its tension may be regulated, and a handle pivoted on the bolt and engaged with the spring whereby the spring holds the bandle down on the key, said handle having a member adapted to engage the shoulders aforesaid.

FREDERICK R. L. STOTT. THOMAS CROSSEN. \i itnesscs JOHN H. HENDRY, RICHARD RUTTER.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G. 

